Mirska (1909 – after 1913) was a

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse that won the 1909

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

. Raced only three times in her lifetime, her only win occurred in the Oaks. Despite being a daughter of two English

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

winners, Mirska was not favoured to win the Oaks and won the race at 33-1 odds against the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

winner and favourite

Tagalie Tagalie (1909–1920) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. She was one of only six fillies to win The Derby, and was also the second of only four greys to have won the race. She achieved this feat as a three-year-old in 1912, a year in wh ...

. She made no impact as a broodmare in France.

Background

Mirska was bred by Douglas Baird. Mirska's sire St. Frusquin was an outstanding racehorse who won the

2000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

and the

Eclipse Stakes The Eclipse Stakes is a Group races, Group 1 Flat racing, flat Horse racing, horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Sandown ...

in 1896. As a stallion he was

Leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland The title of champion, or leading, sire of Horse racing, racehorses in Great Britain and Ireland is awarded to the stallion whose offspring have won the most prize money in Britain and Ireland during the flat racing season. The current (2023) cham ...

on two occasions and sired the

winners Rosedrop (1910

Epsom Oaks The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 ya ...

), Flair (1906

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

) and

Quintessence Quintessence, or quintessential, or fifth essence, may refer to: Cosmology * Aether (classical element), in medieval cosmology and science, the fifth element that fills the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere * Quintessence (physics), a hypo ...

(1903 1000 Guineas). Mirska's dam,

Musa Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam province, Iran * Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran * Musa Kalayeh, Gilan province, Iran * Abu M ...

, won the Oaks in 1899 for her owner Douglas Baird. After Baird's death in April 1909, Musa was bought by Jean Prat (c. 1848 – 1940), a French turfman, for 4,000 guineas. Musa and her nursing foal Mirska were sent to Prat's Lessard- le-Chêne stud in

Saint-Julien-le-Faucon Saint-Julien-le-Faucon () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region in northwestern France. On 1 J ...

, France in 1909. Mirska's half-brother Montmartin was a sire in France and her full-brother Feramorz was a sire in New Zealand. Mirska was a

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a ''gulf'', ''sea'', ''sound'', or ''bight''. A ''cove'' is a small, ci ...

filly with a narrow white

strip Strip, Strips or Stripping may refer to: Places * Aouzou Strip, a strip of land following the northern border of Chad that had been claimed and occupied by Libya * Caprivi Strip, narrow strip of land extending from the Okavango Region of Nami ...

and four white socks. She was trained at Newmarket by Tom Jennings Jr.

Racing career

Mirska ran only three times in her racing career. As a two-year-old she was twice third and her only known race as a three-year-old was the Oaks. She was retired from racing immediately after the Oaks. Mirska

1911: two-year-old season

Mirska was sent from France to Britain in 1911. Scratched from the Coventry Stakes in June, her first engagement was in the Clearwell Stakes run at Newmarket on 10 October. Though noted to be "attractively-bred" by the press, she was not looked on favorably by the racing public despite her excellent pedigree. Ridden by the French jockey Georges Stern, she finished third in the race behind J. B. Joel colt Absurd and Khedive III. She was again third in the Maiden 2-year-old race at the Second October meeting at Newmarket won by Tidal Wave. In November, she was scratched for her last engagement, the Rangemore Plate.

The 1912 Epsom Oaks

On 5 June at

Epsom Racecourse Epsom Downs is a Grade 1 racecourse in a hilly area near Epsom in Surrey, England which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. The "Downs" referred to in the name are part of the North Downs. The course has a crowd capacity of 130,000 includin ...

Mirska, ridden by Joe Childs started a 33/1 outsider in a fourteen-runner field for the 134th running of the

Oaks Stakes The Oaks Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs over a distance of 1 mile, 4 furlongs and 6 y ...

. The overwhelming favourite was

, who had won the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile ...

and defeated male opposition to win the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

. Racing on heavy ground Mirska overtook the weakening Tagalie in the straight and drew away to win by three lengths.

Retirement

Mirska was retired from racing immediately after her Oaks victory. She returned to Prat's stud in France and was covered by

Rock Sand Rock Sand (1900–1914) was a British Thoroughbred race horse and sire. In a career which lasted from the spring of 1902 until October 1904 he ran twenty times and won sixteen races. He was a leading British two-year-old of his generation an ...

at the Haras de Villebon in 1913. There is no record of the Rock Sand foal racing or if Mirska was rebred.

Pedigree

References

{{Epsom Oaks Winners 1909 racehorse births Racehorses bred in the United Kingdom Racehorses trained in the United Kingdom Thoroughbred family 20-c Epsom Oaks winners